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A Honduran man suspected of killing a man from El Salvador in June has been arrested.
Hector Neptaly Reyes Mendoza, 26, is accused of murdering 47-year-old Jose Edgardo Sorto Molina with a machete on June 5.
At 8:45 p.m. that day, McAllen police responded to a residence in the 2000 block of Houston Ave. in reference to a welfare concern because Sorto had not been seen since June 3, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The following day, detectives responded to the address and upon arrival, they detected the odor of a decomposing body coming from one of the rooms.
According to the affidavit, the room belonged to Reyes.
“Detective’s observed that Hector’s room was locked with a padlock from the outside,” the affidavit said.
The detectives made their way inside due to the exigent circumstances and found Sorto’s body on a bed covered by blankets and clothing.
They observed the body to have multiple deep lacerations to the head that appeared to be caused by a large blade, the affidavit said.
In plain view was an empty machete sheath hanging on the wall in another area of the residence.
Detectives interviewed other residents who lived in the same location and learned that the only person unaccounted for was Reyes.
The resident told police that Reyes and Sorto had been arguing over Reyes taking Sorto’s machete.
While the affidavit for Reyes’ arrest doesn’t mention another suspect in the case, McAllen police previously said that Mario Nelson Amaya, a 57-year-old McAllen resident, lived at the home.
Police accuse him of misleading investigators and he was charged with providing false information to detectives.
Sorto was last seen alive on June 3, but according to the affidavit, he sent a text to someone on June 4.
Detectives also learned that Reyes had been seen the evening of June 4 sweating and claiming he had been locked out of his room.
He asked for money before disappearing.
“Detectives also located surveillance video capturing a male matching the description of Hector in the area of the crime scene on June 4th, 2024 in the evening hours,” the affidavit said.
The affidavit doesn’t provide details on how McAllen police found and arrested Reyes.
“Detectives attempted to contact Hector via phone and attempted to locate him but were unsuccessful,” the affidavit stated.
The autopsy conducted on Sorto concluded that the cause of the death were the multiple chop wounds to the head and upper extremities, according to the affidavit.
Reyes remains jailed on a $1 million bond.
